The Intern
by Xiala
Summary: 16-year-old Dana Isles is the BPD's new homicide department intern. At first, Jane is positive she'll be exactly like her cousin Maura. But she's not.
1. Dana

**The Intern**

**Summary**: 16-year-old Dana Isles is the BPD's new homicide department intern. At first, Jane is positive she'll be exactly like her cousin Maura. But she's not.

**A/N**: First Rizzoli & Isles fic, so be nice when you're telling me how terrible it is and how badly I screwed up the characters.

Also, I haven't watched "See One, Do One, Teach One," because my mother won't let me. So if I get a few things wrong if Hoyt and Co show up later on, please let me know in a way that doesn't involve derogatory remarks and yelling. Thanks!

By the way, there are three acceptable ways to pronounce Dana's name: 'Thay-nuh,' 'Jawn-a,' or 'Don-uh.' 'Dan-uh' just doesn't work for me because I'm too obsessed with ancient Celtic linguistics! Feel free to forget that piece of information now that I have satisfied my inner perfectionist. :)

'The Intern' is a working title, and if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it!

Lastly, there might be a slight crossover to my other favourite fandom later on: Covert Affairs. No spoilers, I promise. And it won't be major enough for me to put this in the 'crossovers' section.

**Disclaimer**: I'm not Tess Gerritsen. I don't work for TNT. And I know you're intelligent enough for me to not spell out what that entails. :P

R_I

Jane looked at the lieutenant in disbelief. "Okay, let me get this straight. Frost and I are going to put up with some whiny teenager who probably would rather be off playing video games? Or whatever it is sixteen-year-olds do these days? Really, I don't think so. We've got enough issues as it is without taking on a _high school __intern_." She spat the words out like they were something dirty.

Grant looked back at her calmly. "First of all, this young lady has likely never touched a video game in her life. Second of all, she may be sixteen, but she's in her sophomore year of college." Ignoring Jane's open mouth, he continued, "Third, the girl would be much more of a help than a hindrance, if half of what I've heard about her is true. Fourth," he said, giving Jane a slightly mocking look, "She's Maura's cousin."

Jane pondered it for a moment, then said resignedly, "When does she start?"

R_I

The next morning, Jane walked into her office to find Maura and her cousin waiting.

"Good morning, Jane." Maura put her arm around the girl's shoulder. "I'd like you to meet Dana Isles, my cousin and your new intern."

"Hey, Maura. Hi, Dana," Jane said, sounding as if she had yet to have her coffee. Which, by the way, was true.

Dana shook Jane's hand. Her grip was firm, and her hand was chilly and soft. "It's a pleasure, Detective Rizzoli," she said neutrally.

"If we're going to be working together," Jane told her, "You might as well call me Jane." She took a large gulp of her coffee and headed over to her desk. "I'll give you the orientation."

Maura hurried over to Jane. "Thanks for agreeing to take Dana," she said quietly. "I appreciate it. I promise she'll be very useful once she gets her bearings. And trust me, she's not at all like me once you get to know her."

She left before Jane could reply.

Frost chose that moment to walk in the door. "Hey, Jane," he greeted her. Noticing Dana, he added, "You must be our new intern. I'm Barry Frost, Jane's partner."

"Dana Isles," she replied. "I'm glad to be here."

Frost and Dana joined Jane at her desk. The detective Dana a quick explanation of the way things worked in their section of the BPD, with the new intern nodding coolly and asking the occasional question.

Korsak entered just as Jane and Frost were about to give Dana a tour of the building.

"Mornin', Korsak," Frost said.

"Hi, Frost. Hey, Jane." he replied.

"Vince, I'd like you to meet our new intern, Dana Isles. She'll be with us for three months," Jane informed him.

"Hi, Dana," Korsak said gruffly. "Nice to meet you." He glanced over at his desk. "I'd tag along for your tour of the building, but Grant dumped a butt load of paperwork on me. I made a bet with Crowe that I'd finish it before noon today," he added to Jane and Frost.

"Good luck," Frost said, trying not to laugh. Both he and Jane had seen the two-inch-high stack of papers on Korsak's desk. Frost made a bet with himself Korsak would be lucky to finish it by the end of the week.

R_I

**A/N: **Thoughts? Like it? Don't like it? Sorry you ever read it? I'd love to hear what you have to say!


	2. Interpretational Activities

The Intern

Chapter Two: Interpretational Activities

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction, dammit! If I were Tess Gerritsen or worked for TNT, Korsak would get promoted, Crowe would be fired, and sexism and racism would be jail-able offences in the BPD.

R_I

Maura picked Dana up from the office at the end of the day. Jane and Korsak were eyeball-deep in paperwork- Grant was getting revenge on Jane for parking her car in his space again- and Frost was lounging around, doing nothing in particular.

Jane emerged from her paperwork long enough to say good-bye to Dana and Maura, Frost doing the same. Korsak grunted and waved, not taking his eyes off the piece of paper in front of him.

"How was your day, Dana?" Maura asked as they walked out of the building towards the parking lot.

Dana shrugged. "I'm still getting my bearings, but I think I'm going to like it here. And learn quite a bit. I can tell that Jane is really good at what she does, and I'm glad Lt. Grant talked her into letting me intern with them. Barry is rather pleasant, as well, and I can tell he and Jane work together quite well. Vince, well, I will have more to say about him when he finishes his paperwork and emerges from his desk area long enough to give me an idea of what he's like, but from the way Jane and Barry treat him, he must be a good person."

"He is," Maura agreed as they got into her Lexus.

"Cousin Maura?" Dana said a few minutes later.

"Yes?"

"Thanks. For everything. For letting me stay with you, for ensuring my internship application went through… and everything you've done for me in the past month."

"Think nothing of it," Maura replied airily. "We girls have to stick together."

R_I

Dana and Maura were the first people to get to work the next morning, but not by much. Jane entered the office, coffee in hand, and greeted Maura and Dana with "Morning, girls!"

"Good morning, Jane," Dana replied.

Maura gave Jane a brief hug and left.

Jane went over to her desk and motioned for Dana to sit down. "I'm happy to report that I finished the stack of paperwork that scumbag Grant dumped on me last night. And so, today, I'd like to take the opportunity to get a sense for what experience and useful skills you have."

Dana nodded. "Certainly."

Picking up a pad of paper and a pen, Jane asked, "First of all, what are you majoring in?"

"Cross-Cultural Communication," Dana replied.

Jane looked up, puzzled. "I've never heard of that. What is it?"

"Think of it as a mix between Global Studies, Linguistics, and Journalism."

Jotting down the information, Jane nodded. "Fair enough. Do you have a minor?"

"International Relations."

"What college?"

"Bryn Mawr. It's a women's liberal arts college." Smiling, Dana added, "I'm the youngest student by two years in the whole place."

Jane whistled. "Impressive. Sure beats being the only woman," she added ruefully. "Anyway, do you do any form of martial arts?"

"Tai chi, judo, and aikido."

"Nice. I could never figure out any of those. Do you do any sports?"

"Geocaching, yoga, running, and swimming."

"What's geocaching?"

"Treasure hunting with a GPS."

"Sounds fun. I'll have to call you next time I have a fight with my GPS unit!

"Last question. What languages do you speak?"

"English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Farsi, Arabic, Irish, and Russian."

Jane's mouth was open. "Holy crap."

"You asked."

R_I

Jane went over to the morgue as soon as she got a break.

"Hey, Maura?"

Maura, who was not doing anything in particular due to the absence of any corpses to autopsy, looked up from her laptop. "Yes, Jane?"

"Your cousin speaks ten bloody languages and you never told me?"

"Last time we discussed the subject, it was seven," Maura said calmly. "Dana has a gift for languages."

"You can sure say that again."

R_I

Jane had a mouth full of sandwich when the shot alert went off.

Swallowing quickly, she called, "Frost! Dana! Shots fired on Pearl Street. Let's go!"

Maura joined them as they walked out of the front door. Putting her arm around Dana's shoulders, she quietly informed her cousin, "Pearl Street is a area with a lot of conflict. There are rumours of gang activity brought in all the time, but we rarely manage to catch anyone."

"Good to know," Dana replied.

The shots had been fired in an abandoned building at the far north end of Pearl Street. When Jane's car pulled up outside of it, the four exited it quickly and went over to the door.

Jane, who, along with Frost, had a gun out, banged on the door and yelled, "Boston Police! We're coming in!" She kicked the door open and they went in.

There was a body lying in the middle of the floor, but that's not what caught their attention. A woman was on her knees by the body, sobbing and keeping up a steady stream of words in another language.

"Excuse me," Jane said, making her way over to the body.

The woman looked up, screamed, and began backing away.

"Do you speak English?" Jane tried. The woman shook her head and continued moving away.

Dana stepped forward and said something in the same language the woman had been yelling in. Whatever she said had an effect, because the woman stopped backing away and apparently asked a question. Dana replied in a soothing manner.

"What language is that?" Jane asked Dana quietly.

"Russian," she replied, glancing over her shoulder. "The body on the floor was her husband, Viktor. She wanted to know if we were going to hurt her. I said we weren't, and that we were here to help."

Looking back at the woman, Dana continued speaking in Russian.

_"My name is Dana, and these are my friends Jane and Barry, and my cousin Maura," _she told the woman. _"Jane and Barry are police officers, and Maura is a doctor. We'll help catch the person who killed Viktor." _

_"My name is Marta," _the woman replied. _"My thanks."_

Jane moved forward and asked Dana, "Did she see anything?"

"Jane," Dana replied, "We'll get nothing out of Marta if we don't calm her down and reassure her first."

"Okay," Jane said, hiding her frustration at both not being able to proceed as usual and at the language barrier.

Dana returned her attention to Marta. "_Can you please come back with us to the police station? Jane and Barry need to ask you some questions so we can start looking for Viktor's killer."_

Marta nodded. Hesitantly, she came over and stood by Dana, who led her back to the car, Barry Frost in tow. Jane and Maura stayed behind to start analysing the evidence.

Jane met Maura's gaze as the three left the building. "Your cousin is quite something."

"I know. I'm proud of her."

R_I

A/N: Review? Pwetty pweeze?


	3. Fears of a Teenage Genius

The Intern

Chapter Three: Fears of a Teenage Genius

A/N: I've been pretty busy, so this update is rather overdue. If you've been watching my other fic, Twenty-Four Hours, you'll have made the following observations: I've updated it with two chapters at once, and there are sixteen reviews, to date. Maybe the first had something to do with the second…

Anyway, I hope you like this! I got a few reviews for the last chapter that said Dana is a bit '2-D' and potentially Sue-ish if I'm not careful. Thanks to those reviewers (you know who you are!) and this chapter is dedicated to them. :)

R_I

"Thanks, Dana. That was brilliant work out on Pearl Street," Barry Frost told her as Marta was led into the interrogation room. "Our official translator will take it from here- it's BPD policy."

"Understood," Dana replied calmly.

Frost nodded and followed the BPD's Russian translator into the room.

Dana watched them go, and then moved out of sight of the door. Leaning up against the wall, she allowed her normal mask of cool serenity to crack.

It may have been BPD policy, and Frost hadn't had a choice, Dana mused, but the denial of her offer to translate during the cop's questioning vexed her. She didn't know whether it was that she wasn't officially a police officer, or that she was underage, or if it was another reason that the rules prevented her from offering her assistance. Still, it hurt.

There was no point to her standing around feeling sorry for herself, Dana decided. That wouldn't catch the person who had killed Viktor.

R_I

"Aaaand… there!" Jane exclaimed, pointing to the security footage from a camera that had been trained on the warehouse. "Those two- they entered just after Viktor and Marta did."

"I'll run those two through facial recognition," Frost said, jumping up from his chair. "It looks like we've got our culprits."

Dana smiled.

R_I

Jane glared at the man on the other side of the table. "Last chance. Did you kill this man?" she demanded, pointing to the photograph of Viktor.

Three hundred pounds of muscle, gang tattoos, and bulldog-like features glared back. 'Staz,' who had been arrested before for aggravated assault, rape, battery, murder, and a host of other offences had a formidable countenance.

Jane wasn't particularly impressed.

Standing up, she opened the door and told the waiting officer to take him to lockup.

R_I

"Hey, Jane," Maura said as she entered the office, "Are you going to spend the whole night reading old case files?"

Jane looked up from the screen of her computer. "I don't have anything better to do."

"Do you want to come over for dinner?"

Shrugging, Jane replied, "Sure."

R_I

Maura opened the door. "Hi, Jane," she greeted her friend.

"Hey" was the response as Jane entered the house.

Dana poked her head out of the kitchen and called, "Maura? Where's the parmesan?"

"Top left shelf in the fridge," Maura called back. Sitting down on the couch next to Jane, she smiled. "I persuaded Dana to make crepes."

R_I

"Truth or dare?" Jane asked.

Dana wondered if the alcohol the two adults had consumed by then would make them more or less likely to ask something she'd rather not answer.

"Truth," she replied.

Jane thought for a moment. "Why do you speak all those languages?"

"The literal answer would be because I took the time to learn them," Dana told her dryly. "But the answer I assume you're looking for is because I like languages. And because I love a challenge."

"Fair enough," Jane said.

R_I

Later that night, after the lights were off and Maura and Jane were in an alcohol-induced sleep, Dana lay awake.

It might be that she missed her stuffed bear, Tommy, who was still in her dorm at Bryn Mawr. It might be that seeing Viktor's body had shaken her. It might even be the headache pill she had taken contained caffeine.

But she knew it wasn't any of those.

Why did she learn all of those languages? Dana repeated to herself. The answer she'd given Jane wasn't the full truth, and she knew that.

She'd learned most of them- seven, to be exact,- because she loved learning new languages.

But the remaining three- Farsi, Arabic, and Russian- those had come after a certain government agency's officials had visited Bryn Mawr and interviewed a few, select students.

The real reason she was lying awake was the answer she had given to the recruiters' last question.

A/N: Cliffy. Ish. Sort of. Maybe. Does it count? Why don't you review and tell me what you think? :P


	4. The Politics of Friends and Family, Pt 1

The Intern

Chapter Four: The Politics of Friendship and Family, Part One

A/N: I got a new hair toy — which, in fact, happens to be the first clip that's ever been able to hold my long, voluminous, flyaway hair. Therefore, I am happy and in the mood to share the feeling by updating. :P

R_I

"I hate cold cases," Jane announced as she strode into the office a month after the conviction of Staz.

"Join the club," Korsak shot back.

"I wasn't aware a club was necessary," Frost contributed.

"There is a club, and it's called Boston Homicide," Jane snapped.

"Oh, like Narcotics and Vice doesn't have cold cases, too?" Korsak retorted.

"And you would certainly know that better than I would," Frost countered sarcastically. "After all, you've been in Homicide for longer than I've been an adult and never even did a stretch in N&V!"

"Oh, shut up!" the elder detective retaliated.

Jane threw a file at Korsak and her empty paper coffee cup at Frost. The file hit its mark, but the cup missed Frost and clobbered Maura as she entered the room.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Oops! Sorry, Maura!" Jane apologised, muffling a laugh.

Maura lifted an eyebrow. "You can tell me why you're throwing things later. I need to talk to you."

R_I

"Okay, Maura, what's so big that you have to bring me all the way over here to tell me?" Jane inquired as Maura led her into the deserted autopsy room.

Maura looked at Jane solemnly. "What's your position on the Central Intelligence Agency?" she asked softly.

"One word: MKULTRA," Jane responded with disgust.

Maura opened her laptop and turned it so Jane could see the screen. "I found that on Dana's dresser," she told Jane quietly. "I wasn't snooping — she'd offered to let me borrow a necklace of hers, and it was sitting right next to her jewellery box."

'That' was a photograph of a letter. It didn't show most of the contents, but the letterhead and first few lines were perfectly clear.

"'Dear Miss Isles, I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Central Intelligence Agency's Career Trainee Program following completion of your degree at Bryn Mawr College,'" Jane read, trailing off and looking at Maura in shock. "Please tell me this is a joke," she implored Maura.

"No, it isn't," she replied sadly.

Jane balled her hands into fists. "The girl has no clue just how stupid this is. Promising her life to the Company! Maura, we have to do something. We can't let her go through with this! She'll get herself killed, or worse, captured by terrorists!"

"We can talk to her about this, Jane, but she's apparently made her mind up about this. I don't think we can do anything."

A grim look came over Jane's face. "But we can try."

R_I

A/N: There's your answer! Dana is a-headed for the big, bad CIA. :P Did you see that coming?


End file.
